Destiny
by See Jane Write
Summary: Post Serendipity, Elliot goes to talk to Casey. Strong CaseyElliot friendship.


Destiny

Summary: Post "Serendipity", Elliot goes to talk to Casey. Strong Casey/Elliot friendship.

Author's Note: I was re-watching "Serendipity" yet again, and this idea hit me. There was that moment when Elliot wrapped his arm around Casey's shoulders right after he introduced her to Olivia. Besides, we could always use more Casey/Elliot fic. Begins promptly after "Serendipity" ends.

Spoilers: Slight "Serendipity" and "Loss"

Disclaimer: I do not own Casey, Elliot, the rest of the SVU cast, the events of "Serendipity", yadda, yadda, yadda.

* * *

_How can I want this job,_ Casey Novak thought as she slowly retreated back to her office. _How can anyone actually want this job?_ How Arthur Branch had decided that she was the one who should fill Alexandra Cabot's position was inconceivable. Casey had seen some of the case files from Alexandra's open cases. As to not overwhelm her, Branch had handed most of them off to other assistant district attorneys, but Casey still had seen them. Women who had been raped, even killed, while they were just coming home from work; children who had been abused just so someone else could feel powerful. They all made her feel sick. With each file she saw, her respect for the late Alexandra Cabot grew. 

She neared her office. The door was open a crack. Had she left it that way? She was certain that she had closed it before she went to talk to Branch. She never even thought about doing it anymore; it just came out of habit. She cautiously pushed the door open the rest of the way before tip-toeing inside the office.

It looked the same as when she had left it. Her desk was still in order. Of course, there were papers scattered about on top of it and several boxes filled with items from her old office that she still had to display, but it was still her office. She turned around slightly then gasped as she saw a figure sitting on her couch. As she turned on the lights, she lowered her hand from on top of her chest. "Holy crap, Elliot, you scared me," she said as she walked over to the chair behind her desk.

"Sorry," Elliot apologized. He sounded sincere enough. He glanced over at Casey. She still looked like she was in shock. The idea of working special victims cases had to be overwhelming at first. Even though he had requested to be in the unit, it took him a while to adjust to what he saw every day. "Are you ok?" he asked her.

Casey nodded. "Elliot, I was startled, sure. But I grew up with four older brothers. During my childhood, I've certainly been more frightened."

"That's not what I meant," Elliot told her. "This job at first is shocking, harsh…" His voice trailed off as he waited for Casey to supply more adjectives.

"What was Branch thinking?" Casey asked as she slouched back into her desk chair. "I mean, you've been in the SVU for a long time. Abby Carmichael, Alexandra Cabot. Those women are meant to be SVU ADAs. I'm not." She exhaled deeply. "I'm sure you figured that out by now."

Elliot shook his head. "Nonsense," he replied honestly. "You have a win on your first case," he reminded her.

Casey shrugged. "It was your job to actually get the evidence so we could convict. The whole fact that we got the conviction was pure luck."

"First cases are always tough," Elliot stated gently.

Casey raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you being nice to me?" she asked. "I know that I was too involved in your work. Your partner must hate me by now."

Again, Elliot shook his head. "Olivia doesn't hate you," he assured her. "I'll admit that you did come on a little strong, but I can assure you that Olivia does not hate you. She just misses Alex."

"Do you?" Casey asked softly. She leaned her head against the back of her chair and tilted the whole thing in Elliot's direction. "Hate me, I mean," she added as she realized her question could have more than one interpretation.

"No," Elliot replied honestly. "I may hate your batting skills that make me look like a three-year-old learning to catch, but I don't hate you personally," he assured her with a smile. He turned towards her. "In all honesty, Casey, it's just going to take time. You're not used to dealing with this subject matter yet. Olivia's not used to having someone besides Alex handling our cases."

Casey raised a thin eyebrow at the detective. "If these are your detective skills, I'm screwed."

Elliot chuckled as he rose from the couch. "Relax, Counselor," he told her. "Branch made the right decision in giving you this position. You'll see." He gestured at her desk. "And he's not firing you, so you might as well unpack."

Casey nodded as she looked at the boxes. "Probably should," she admitted. After mentally debating it, Casey decided which box to unload first. She lifted it off the floor and placed it on the chair in front of her desk. The box contained several picture frames, certificates, and other things of that nature. Most of them would be going on her desk or on the walls.

"Do you want some help, or do you want to be alone?" Elliot asked her as he picked up one of the pictures from her desk.

It was a small picture taken when Casey was about seven or eight years old. She was dressed in one of her mother's dress suits, and she was arguing with one of her older brothers. It was at that moment that her father thought she should become a lawyer. Casey had always kept that picture around for when her job got difficult.

"Wait, Novak," Elliot said to himself as he handed the picture back to Casey. "Are you Greg Novak's little sister?"

Casey eyed Elliot curiously as she took the picture back. "Yeah, you know him?"

"I used to," Elliot admitted. "We played baseball together after school with some of the other kids in the neighborhood until about fifth grade-"

"When we moved uptown," Casey finished Elliot's statement. She chuckled slightly to herself as she moved the box back down to the floor and sat down in the chair. "I remember you now," she admitted. "You would come over to my house before playing baseball for some lemonade and a snack."

Elliot smiled at her. "Your mother would insist that we eat something healthy before we played," he said.

"No, before you played," Casey corrected. "I never got to play. My mother only had one daughter, and she wanted a glisten of hope that I would be her girly daughter."

Elliot chuckled. "I remember how you would always watch us on the way home from your…" He stopped for a moment as he tried to remember what Casey was doing when they were playing. "I want to say piano lesson."

Casey nodded. "Yep," she agreed. "And I'd just watch you play and try to join in. A couple times it worked, but my mother always caught me." She could feel her cheeks warming. She had forgotten about that, but here he was. It was Elliot Stabler. She was only about to start third grade when they moved away, so she barely remembered him. However, she remembered one thing about him. "You know, I kind of had a crush on you," she admitted.

Elliot smiled at her. "You were pretty cute yourself," he told her.

Casey rolled her eyes at him. "You're just saying that," she accused him.

"No, I mean it," Elliot said as he started walking towards the door. "The way you just inserted yourself into the game. I mean, you knew how to play, and you didn't wait to be invited in. I admired that about you," he said. By this point, he had reached the door. "Trust me, Casey. If you're anything like that little girl with the long ponytail I knew back then, you'll be fine here. After all, you are meant to be here." He headed out of her office. "'Night, Case," he called as he started walking down the hallway.

"'Night," Casey whispered, mostly to herself. She smiled slightly. It definitely was not the most glamorous job, but she did have a win on her first case. Both Branch and Elliot had insisted she would be fine here. She exhaled slowly as she gathered up her keys and wallet to get ready to head home herself. After all, she had a lot of work to get done the next day. She needed to be well rested.


End file.
